"where brought into the bishops' courts; of whom some were burnt, "but the greater part abjured.' He then mentions Henry's book against Luther, and continues,"Tindal's translation of the New Testament, with notes, drew a severe condemnation from the clergy, "there being nothing in which they were more concerned, than to keep "the people unacquainted with that book. Thus much may serve to "shew the condition of affairs in England both in church and state, "when the process of the king's divorce was first set on foot."

So much for the affairs of England, both in church and state, when the divorce was set on foot, according to Burnett's story; we shall, however, be able to place them in a very different light, and upon the testimony of unimpeachable witnesses, which Burnet scorns to produce, but contents himself with his own bare assertions. In the first place, it was not the sale of indulgences that first set Luther to oppose the church, but a supposed neglect of the pope, in appointing the Dominiçan order of the church to preach these indulgences, instead of the Augustinian order, of which latter Martin Luther was then a prominent member. Martin conceived his pride to be wounded, and from this spirit of pride and jealousy arose the disputes which afterwards followed between him and the church of Rome. That there was a laxity of discipline among some of the clergy cannot be denied, but the doctrine was unimpaired, and continued the same as it ever had been, and ever will be. That there was gross ignorance in the higher order of the clergy, or lasciviousness among the monks, is a base insinuation, as we shall shew by and by; that reports of such a nature were industriously circulated to screen the designs of Henry and his courtiers in their invasion of church property is true enough, but they were mere reports, not a single charge of the kind was ever substantiated, while numerous instances occurred where learned and pious men laid down their lives rather than sacrifice their conscience. That the unmarried state of the clergy gave infinite scandal to the world is clearly contradicted by the English act of parliament passed in the reign of Edward the sixth, which allowed the new order of parsons to marry, yet nevertheless declared that it would be more edifying to the people, if they remained single. That all ranks of churchmen were universally despised and hated, is contradicted by the fact that the people rose in many parts of England in defence of the clergy and monasteries, which may be seen by consulting the historians of the country. Of superstition and the tyranny of the popes we shall say nothing-the supposed tyranny of the pope was changed for an absolute despotism in the monarch, and England's liberties were bartered when a base parliament gave spiritual supremacy to Harry. The furious persecution set on foot, in consequence of the translation of German books into English never existed, except in the brain of Fox or Burnet; and the execution of the six men and women for teaching their children the creed, the Lord's prayer, and the commandments in English, is one of the most brazen lies ever told. The people of all countries were, from the commencement of Christianity, all taught to repeat the Lord's prayer, and instructed in the commandments and creed in their vernacular tongue, and parts of Scripture were explained to them by the clergy in the same familiar way. To represent, therefore, that men and women were burned for

performing a duty to their children enjoined them by the Catholic church, for such was the case; the clergy taught both parents and chitdren, and the parents were exhorted to aid the clergy by reminding. them of their duty; to represent, we say, men and women as being burned for such an act, is one of the most frontless, most malignant, and most diabolical lies, ever invented to blacken and defame the oldest class of Christians in the world.

We must now say a word on the morals of the world, when Luther began to preach his doctrines, and the state they were in after his doctrines had taken root. Burnet states the bishops were grossly ignorant, the regular clergy absorbed in luxury and debauchery, the inferior clergy public scandalizers by their unblushing immorality, and the people groaning under a system of despotism and blind superstition. We have admitted that there was a laxity of morals among both clergy and people, but certainly not to that extent here described. Had there. not been a debasement of conduct among the clergy, we should not have had such a crew of beastly reformers as sprung up after the example set them by Luther. What the effects of their pretended reforms in religion produced let them bear testimony themselves, and in so doing we shall see them contradicting the description given by Burnet · of the state of Catholicism at that period. "Heretofore," says Luther, that is, in the days of Catholicism," Heretofore, when we were seduced "by the pope, every man willingly performed good works, but NOW no man says or knows any thing else but how to get all to himself by "exactions, pillage, theft, lying, usury, &c." Postil. super Evang. Dom. 26. post Trin. Here then we have the acknowledgment of Luther himself, that before he began to preach, every man was occupied in performing good works, and surely the exercise of good deeds could not be productive of ignorance and immorality. He may call it being seduced by the pope, but who is the man, who is the Christian, that would not be seduced to perform the works of Charity, rather than be charmed by some evil spirit to delight in the ways of the devil, as Luther confesses was the case with those who embraced his doctrines. A great outery has been raised against the sale of indulgences in the Church of Rome; now that no ill effects were derived from this traffic, allowing for the sake of argument that such a mart was established, is proved by the testimony of Luther, who says that men then delighted in the performance of good works, an indulgence certainly very commendable, and highly conducive to the happiness of a people. But the moment Luther began to preach against the sale of indulgences, he gave 1 such a gratuitous license to his followers to indulge in all the base passions of human nature, that shortly after, he tells us, every kind of good doings was totally obliterated from their minds, and the sole study of every individual was how to get all to himself by exactions, pillage, theft, lying, usury, &c." And he further states, that men were then more revengeful, covetous, and licentious than they ever were in the papacy." But need we wonder that such should be the result of the progress of Luther's doctrines when the preacher himself was a prey to his own lust and intemperance. We have it from his own pen that he had conferences with the devil, and in the preface to the first tome of his works be thus describes the state of his own mind, and his dis

r

position towards God, previous to his commencing reformer. "I was
mighty desirous," he says, "to understand Paul in his Epistle to the
"Romans: but was hitherto deterred, not by any faintheartedness, but by
one single expression in the first chapter, viz. therein is the righteous-
"ness of God revealed. For I hated that word, the righteousness of God:
"because I had been taught to understand it of that formal and active
" righteousness, by which God is righteous and punishes sinners, and
"the unrighteous. Now knowing myself, though I lived a monk of an
"irreproachable life, to be in the sight of God a sinner, and of a most
unquiet conscience, nor having any hopes to appease him with my own
satisfaction, I did not love, nay I hated this righteous God, who punishes
sinners, and with heavy muttering, if not with silent blasphemy, I was
angry with God, and said, as if it were not enough for miserable sin-
ners, who are lost to all eternity by original sin, to suffer all manner
"of calamity by the law of the Decalogue, unless God by the gospel
"adds sorrow to sorrow, and even by the gospel threatens us with his
righteousness and anger. Thus, did I rage with a fretted and disordered
"conscience." What a fit apostle to reform religion! What precious
marks of a divine commission! What charming fruit must such a tree
produce! Here we have a man declaring that he hated a righteous
God; that he raged and fretted with a disordered conscience; that he
muttered against the will of Heaven, and silently blasphemed his justice
-and yet this man, this impious wretched blasphemer, is held up as the
pattern of excellence, and the reformer of that system which its Divine
Founder said should never be reformed. This libidinous monk taught
that adultery was lawful, notwithstanding one of the commandments of
God is so positive against that crime; he said that "
a person that
“is baptized could not, though he would, lose his salvation by any sins
"how grievous soever, unless he refused to believe. For no sin could
"damn a man but unbelief alone." Capt. Bab. tom. ii. fol. 74, 1.-
Where is the wonder that men should be guilty of lying, theft, usury,
exaction, and the like, when they had such a blessed counsellor in this
reformer of religion? Again, he says, "The Papists teach that faith in
"Christ justifies indeed, but that God's commandments are likewise to
"be kept. Now this is directly to deny Christ and abolish faith." In
Ep. ad Gal. tom. v. fol. 311. 2. An excellent mode of reasoning, if such
it can be called. If the commandments are not to be kept why were
they enjoined? Before we take leave of Luther we will just mention
his golden rule for the interpretation of scripture, which can be consi-
dered in no other light that a general indulgence to commit every de-
gree of enormity that a man's inclinations may lead him to.
this," he says, "be your rule; where the scripture commands the
"doing good work, understand it in this sense, that it forbids thee to
"do a good work, because thou canst not do it." Tom. iii. fol. 171. 2,

"Let

What the "few plain Christians" will say to this rule of interpreting scripture we cannot divine, the effects of it however, have been dreadful, as we gather from the page of history, and the writings of the reformers themselves.-Calvin wrote in similar strains to Luther, on the increase of iniquity among the disciples of the reformation so called. "Of the "many thousands," he said, "who, renouncing Popery, seemed eagerly to embrace the gospel, how few have qmended their lives. Nay, what

Than

"else did the greater part pretend to, but by shaking off the yoke of "superstition, give themselves more liberty to follow all kinds of "licentiousness."-Lib. de scandalis.-Erasmus who was no advocate for the Catholics, lamented the degeneracy of morals brought on by the change of religion. "Take a view," says he, " of this evangelical people," the Protestants-" Perhaps 'tis my misfortune; but I never yet met with one, who does not appear changed for the worse." Epist. ad Vultur. Neoc. And again : "Some persons," says he, "whom I knew " formerly innocent, harmless and without deceit, no sooner have I seen "joined to that sect, (the Protestants,) but they begun to talk of "wenches, to play at dice, to leave off prayers, being grown extremely "worldly, most impatient, revengeful, vain, like vipers tearing one "another. I speak by experience." Ep. ad Fratres infer. Germaniæ.— "The greater part of the people," adds Bucer, seem to have embraced "the gospel, only to live at their pleasure, and enjoy their lusts and "lawless appetites without control. Hence they lend a willing ear to "the doctrine, that we are justified by faith only, and not by good works,. "for which they have no relish." (Burde Regn. Christ. b. 1. c. 4.) There is one more witness we shall produce, because his testimony goes to shew that lying, and perjury, and forgery, were the instruments by which the reformers maintained their ground, and cheated the people out of their senses." I am indignant," says the Protestant professor Zanchius, "when I consider the manner in which most of us defend "our cause. The true state of the question we often, on set purpose, "involve in darkness that it may not be understood; we have the im"pudence to deny things the most evident: we assert what is visibly "false: the most impious doctrines we force on the people as the first 66 principles of faith, and orthodox opinions we condemn as heretical : we torture the scriptures till they agree with our own fancies; and "boast of being the disciples of the fathers, while we refuse to follow "their doctrine: to deceive, to calumniate, to abuse, is our familiar practice: nor do we care for any thing, provided we can defend our "cause, good or bad, right or wrong. O what times! what matters!" (Zanchius ad Stormium, tom. viii. col. 828.)

We have advanced enough to shew "the rise and progress of Luther's "doctrines" in a different light than what Burnet has pourtrayed them. He has, with the same dexterity as Fox and other reformed writers, followed the course complained of by Zanchius. The true question is studiously involved in darkness, that it may not be clearly seen; facts the most evident are denied or suppressed; the most impious doctrines are imposed upon the people as divine truths; and the scriptures are tortured and twisted to suit the notions of every cobbler or coalheaver that fancies himself inspired. How different are the ways of the Catholic church. Regulated by one system of divine jurisprudence, and governed by the Spirit of Truth, she, in cases of difficulty, assemble the guardians of faith from the different quarters of the world, to pronounce on the novelties that may arise, and declare what is, has been, and always was, the faith of the church received by her from Chaist, through the apostles. This done, canons or laws were devised for the repressing of abuse and the correction of morals, and thus her. unity, holiness, apostolicity, and Catholicity have been

made manifest to the world. The last of these general councils was held at Trent during the progress of the reformation, and in the seventh session the fathers of that assembly decreed as follows:--To “those "who persevere in good works to the end, and trust in God, eternal "life is to be proposed, both as a grace mercifully promised to the "sons of God, through Jesus Christ, and as a reward which according to the promise of God will be faithfully rendered to their good "works and merits." Let the reader compare this doctrine with the irreligious preachings of the lustful reformers, and say whether the superstition of the former, as it is called, is not to be preferred to the libertinism of the latter.

HISTORY OF HENRY'S MARRIAGE WITH CATHARINE.

The "few plain Christians" usher in this marriage with the following observations: "As this incident is so replete with consequences, a par"ticular relation of its cause will not, it is presumed, be unacceptable "to the reader ;" and they then procced with extracts from Burnet's Abridgement under the name of Fox. Burnet states the marriage of Catherine with prince Arthur, and their being bedded together. He also insinuates that the marriage was consummated, though it is well known that Arthur was a sickly prince, and died soon after the marriage, and that Catharine always declared that she was a virgin when she came to Henry's bed. He further says, that the second match between Henry and Catharine originated from the avarice of Henry's father; that Warham, archbishop of Canterbury, objected to the second marriage, and Fox, bishop of Winchester was for it; that "the pope's authority was then so well established that it was thought a dispensation was sufficient to remove all objections." and accordingly one was obtained. The two paragraphs following we quote verbatim from the Book of Martyrs, and we beg the reader's particular attention to the words we have put in italic characters :—

"The pope was then at war with Lewis the Twelfth of France, and so would refuse nothing to the king of England, being perhaps not un"willing that princes should contract such marriages, by which the legitimation of their issue depending on the pope's dispensation, they "would be thereby obliged in interest to support that authority. Upon "this a marriage followed, the prince yet being under age; but the same day in which he came to be of age, he did by his father's orders make a protestation that he retracted and annulled his marriage.

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Henry the Seventh on his deathbed charged his son to break it off entirely, being perhaps apprehensive of such a return of confusion upon a controverted succession to the crown, as had been during the wars of the houses of York and Lancaster; but after his father's "death, Henry the Eighth being then eighteen years of age, married her; "she bore him two sons, who died soon after they were born; and a r daughter, Mary, afterwards queen of England. After this the queen "contracted some diseases that made her unacceptable to the king; who at "the same time beginning to have some scruples of conscience with regard "to the lawfulness of his marriage, determined to have the affair investigated!!"

Did the world ever before see such a specimen of barefaced lying as this bishop of the Church-of-England, this Gilbert Burnet, D. D.